Tech Startups Come Up With Some Creative Definitions for ‘Profitable’ – Bloomberg

In the end, a business must exist to make a profit. It does not exist to employ people or to be a charity. To attract more investment money, investors look at a return on the money that they put at the risk of losing.

If they won’t get a return, they won’t invest, and people lose jobs, period. Number one goal of a business is to make a profit.

Facing a tougher fundraising environment, on-demand companies are touting financial metrics to show the health of their businesses—using whichever definition looks rosiest.